


carefully fold, like a butterfly

by orphan_account



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: All Of The Lesbians, Alternate Universe - High School, Community Service, F/F, Minor Sloane/Hurley, Roller Derby, Team Sweet Flips, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, its what griffin would have wanted, kravitz: [finger guns] bye, kravitz: wow thank god some1 can help luce w kids now, lup: you work here, minor killian/carey, well. magic high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The roller rink doesn’t open until nine, so there are only a few people inside. One of them is a taller guy that looks about Lup’s age. He’s wearing school gym sweatpants, and Lup breathes in relief. She’s not the only teenager here, thank Pan. He straightens his posture and walks over to Lup. He clears his throat before nodding his head. “Name’s Kravitz,” he says. “Nice to see someone’s comin’ to help ‘Cretia with the kids,” he says, before frowning. “You are here for that, right?”Lup blinks. “I’m here from nine to noon for community service,” she recites.





	1. ; i could tell the moment i saw you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup gets into some trouble.

“Lup,” the Principal—Doctor Davenport, although Lup just calls him Davenport—frowns. “This is the fifth time you’ve set something in your chemistry class on fire that you weren’t supposed to. This is your third time in my office for the same offense.”

She tries really hard not to grin and say _actually, it’s the seventh, the others the teacher just doesn’t know about yet._ “I know you know how fire works. You’re here on a _science scholarship_ and you’re an evoker. I have to leave you with three choices, Lup.”

“Lay ‘em on me,” Lup says. It’s not the first time she’s had to make choices like this.

Davenport exhales. “You can drop chemistry, which I know isn’t happening. You can refund Jenkins for intentionally—don’t look at me like that when you know I’m telling the truth, young lady—burning five different pieces of school property. Or, you could do some community service and behave in your chemistry class.”

Lup cannot drop chemistry. She is not able to do that. Davenport’s right. Lup’s here for science; it’s her second year of high school and she’s taking AP Chemistry. Not a small feat, especially with how she handles the work. Dropping out of AP—either into academic or into no science at all is the nightmare scenario. Her scholarship would find out and leave her on her own to fend for her tuition.

Refunding Mr. Jenkins is also out of the question. There’s a reason Lup’s on scholarship here, and it starts with an M: money. She’s flat broke.

So, that leaves one option.

She sighs. “What are the community service options?”

Davenport smiles a little and pushes a list forward.

 

A roller rink. In bright, bold neon blue letters, the name _NAVILLERA ROLLER RINK_ flickers on and off, the second “L” in “Roller” completely broken. It’s kind of endearing.

It’s eight thirty in the morning on Saturday. Lup had a few choices for community service, really. There were some soup kitchens, but Lup knows how crowded those can get. It’s not that she doesn’t want to, it’s that there’s no way she’ll have enough time to feed everyone that comes through that door. It’s all or nothing, when it comes to Lup. There were some other stuff that involved more  _ adults.  _ But the roller rink, according to Davenport, was a thing from nine to noon on weekends. And also according to Davenport, there would be more people her age.

Good enough for Lup.

With all the confidence she can muster—which she must note, is a _fuckin’_ lot—she power walks into the roller rink.

The roller rink doesn’t open until nine, so there are only a few people inside. One of them is a taller guy that looks about Lup’s age. He’s wearing school gym sweatpants, and Lup breathes in relief. She’s not the only teenager here, thank Pan. He straightens his posture and walks over to Lup. He clears his throat before nodding his head. “Name’s Kravitz,” he says. “Nice to see someone’s comin’ to help ‘Cretia with the kids,” he says, before frowning. “You _are_ here for that, right?”

Lup blinks. “I’m here from nine to noon for community service,” she recites. “I’m Guadaalupe on paper, but everyone calls me Lup,” she introduces. Kravitz hums, going through a clipboard before nodding.

“Cool,” he says. “So you are here to help ‘Cretia. You’re just teaching kids how to roller skate. It’s not too bad, and according to ‘Cretia, the kids are angels.”

Lup pauses. “Have you never helped this, uh, ‘Cretia out?”

Kravitz looks down, a bit embarrassed. If his skin wasn’t so dark, Lup bets he’d be flushed to the tip of his ears. “I don’t. Um. Do well with kids. I hole up in the office and do paperwork.”

“You’re literally my age,” Lup protests. “Don’t think I don’t see those IPRE Prep sweatpants, Kravitz! You just hide and do homework, don’t you?”

Kravitz shoots Lup finger guns before skating backwards into the office. Lup squints and sees Kravitz pull out a thick AP Music Theory textbook. What a nerd. “You can get roller skates from wherever!” Kravitz calls from the office. “Just return them when you leave.”

Lup grumbles, picking up a size nine before tying the skates on her feet. She’s not particularly great at skating, but she can balance herself and move forward a bit. That’s enough to help some squirts learn to skate, right?

Lup wanders on the rink for a bit, doing a few circles around before the doors open. Lup checks her watch—there are still fifteen minutes left before the rink opens.

The person that enters the roller rink may just be the most beautiful human girl Lup’s ever seen. She has dark skin that pops with her dyed white hair. She looks regal. She carries herself with confidence, but it’s different in the way that Lup does. Lup exaggerates her confidence to seem untouchable and she does everywhere she walks. The world is her runway and she’s _strutting._ It’s what she and Taako just… do.

This confidence is clearly of someone that is generally shy but is in their _zone._

The girl blinks at Lup. “You must be the new volunteer,” she slips on some roller skates that she had when she entered before introducing herself. “I’m Lucretia. I assume you’ve met Kravitz?”

“Yep,” Lup says, shaking Lucretia’s hand. “I’m Lup. Guadaalupe on paper, but no one calls me that.”

Lucretia nods. “I’m sure you know you’re here to teach kids to skate. Some of them are really little, so _please_ be nice to them. Some of the older kids are more standoffish but the oldest one is twelve years old the kids really look up to him. I guess all I can ask of you is to help them gain confidence. Got it?”

Lup is dazed. “Sounds like you assumed I would be mean to the kids?”

Lucretia sighs. “Not everyone likes the kids. Not everyone does community service because they want to. I don’t know the circumstances of why you’re here, exactly. But I know you’re here for community service. I’m also in your chemistry class, so I can put two and two together.”

“...You’re in my chem class,” Lup repeats. “How have I never noticed you? You’re—” beautiful, lovely, stunning “—very eye catching,” Lup decides on.

That makes Lucretia laugh a bit. “I’m… really not. I’m very much a wallflower. I don’t really, ah, speak in class unless I’m spoken to. I wouldn’t say I’m eye catching either, but,” she shrugs self consciously. “Ten minutes til we open up. Are you ready?”

Lup huffs. “I was born ready, Luce!”

“...Luce,” Lucretia whispers before shaking her head. “We’ll do some introductions before we start teaching them stuff. Think about, uh, something interesting about yourself, I guess.”

Lup does some more circles around before she stops near the entrance to the wooden floor where the skating happens. The lights inside the building get brighter and the “open” sign flickers on. The doors swing open and a hoard of about twelve children rush inside. Very systematically, Kravitz hands out skates to all the kids before skating back to the office. The kids all echo some form of “Hi, Mister Kravitz!” before resuming to the locker area where they leave lunches and their shoes.

Ten minutes later and twelve kids are shuffling around on the smooth wooden floor. “Hi, everyone,” Lucretia greets. “We have someone new working with us. Everyone, please say hi to Lup!”

“Hi, Lup!” The kids all say in unison. It’s a bit creepy but overall pretty cute. Lup bows, careful not to slip, and shoots finger guns at the group of munchkins. It’s a mixed group of kids—some are human, some are Dwarves, some are elves. A good mixture.

“Lup’s the name and the world’s my runway! I’m gonna be the best evocation wizard out there,” Lup introduces. She casts prestidigitation, sparks flying as she spins a bit dramatically. The kids all _ooh_ and _ahh_ in awe before Lucretia hushes them up.

“We’re going to do what we normally do. If you got your green bracelet, come with me. Everyone who doesn’t, stay with Lup.”

Most of the kids go with Lucretia, and a measly _three_ stay with Lup. Two of them are dwarves—damn, they’re fuckin _tiny—_ and one is an elf.

One of the dwarves skates over to Lup a bit wobbly. “Hi, Lup,” she introduces curtly. “I’m Mavis,” she gestures to the other dwarf. “This is my brother Mookie. We just started lessons two weeks ago, so I’m sorry if we’re kind of… bad,” she shrugs. She points to the elf now. “That’s Keats. He doesn’t speak Common so we don’t ever know what he’s saying. Lucretia knows sometimes but he speaks in a different dialect than what she’s used to.”

Lup blinks. “I’m an elf,” she says. Again, in Elvish though: _“You don’t know Common?”_

Keats looks up at Lup like she’s a gift from heaven. Which she is, but she digresses. _“You speak Pure Elvish!”_ Keats cheers. _“Not all elves do, and my family. Um. Looks down on non-elves. But I don’t think like that all. I wanna be able to talk to my friends Mookie and Mavis but I can’t.”_

Lup smiles softly. She switches back to Common. “Mavis, Mookie, did you know Keats wants to be your friend?”

Mookie’s eyes are a bit hard to see under his wild hair and his hamburger hat but his smile isn’t. He grins widely, showing off his missing teeth. “Did he say that?!” Mookie demands, jumping up and down on his skates until Mavis tells him to stop. “Really really really!?”

“Really really really,” Lup promises.

Mookie shoots himself at Keats, hugging him tightly. Keats looks a bit shell shocked. Mookie grabs Keats by the hands and says with a lot of conviction for what Lup believes is a six year old dwarf, “we’re friends.”

Lup smiles and repeats what Mookie said but in Elvish.

Keats smiles. He takes a deep breath and tries to copy the word Mookie just said. “Fr...iends,” Keats says unsurely.

Mavis looks pretty serious for her age, but even she smiles widely. “Friends,” she confirms.

The first half of roller rink time turns into “teach Keats some basic Common” and honestly, Lup was totally chill with that. Keats is a cute kid and she’s happy to teach him the ropes of a new language. As she does this though, she still has to look like she’s helping two dwarves and an elf learn how to skate.

“Mavis, you’re movin’ your center of gravity too high up when you stand like that,” Lup says. “Try bending your knees. Then it’s closer to your middle and easier to control. Like this,” she demonstrates, bending her knees and leaning the slightest bit forward before kicking off a little to catch some speed. It’s not too much, she’s not trying to overwhelm the kid, but hopefully demonstrative enough to stimulate a roller skating awakening inside of her.

“If you’re sure, Miss Lup,” Mavis scrunches her nose. She bends her knees, awesome, but when she leans forward to kick off she does it a bit too much.

“Shit,” Lup says, watching in slow motion as Mavis falls to the floor.

She moved before she could control herself, because one second Lup is standing watching this happen and the next Lup is also on the floor and there’s a twelve year old dwarf falling on her back. “Shit, but with more feeling,” Lup gasps as Mavis collides with her back.

Mookie tries to roll over to help Mavis up, but he ends up falling on top of her instead. This is great, Truly, Lup has never experienced something more riveting.This is fucking amazing.

Lup kinda wants to die. She looks up at Keats and begs with clenched teeth, _“Help get these dwarves off of me!”_

Keats, the little shit, slowly skates over and gently lands on top of Mookie.

“Doggy pile,” Mookie says thoughtfully, though muffled from his face being in his sister’s hair.

Mavis breathes heavily like she’s stifling laughter. “Sorry, Miss Lup,” she giggles. “Didn’t think you’d take the fall for me, but here we are.”

None of the children make any move to get off of her. Lup sighs and casts Mage Hand to get Lucretia’s attention.

Bad move.

On the plus side, it does get Lucretia’s attention. She turns around and sees the pile of bodies and zooms over with a lot more balance than Lup expected. “What’s going on here?” Lucretia asks.

Lup, a bit strained, says: “I single handedly saved Mavis’s life and this is how I was repaid. By being fuc—fricken doggypiled.”

On the minus side, well.

“Doggy pile!” Yells another kid. A rush of rolls come in and before she knows it, Lup is being crushed by the bodies of eleven small creatures.

“Okay, that’s fuckin’ it,” Lup mutters, praying none of the kids hear her. She strains under the weight but she’s able to move her arm into her pocket and pulls out her mini-wand that she keeps on her keychain. She casts levitate and goes slack on the floor when all the bodies are just. Gone. Sure, it takes a lot of energy but the kids are little and Lup is made of nothing if not sheer willpower. She technically doesn’t have the spell slots for that but. Lup is a force of nature.

She stands up, dusts off her knock-off Fantasy Pink hoodie, and lets the kids down.

Lucretia has her hand over her mouth stifling laughter.

“Betrayed by my own coworker,” Lup whispers.

Lucretia snorts, leaning forward, cheeks blowing in and out with air because of her giggling. She looks up at Lup and it looks like she’s fluttering her eyelashes but she isn’t, but they _are_ wet with tears clinging to them as she laughs so hard she falls and lands on her ass.

And when Lucretia looks up at her, with the biggest, most genuine dorky smile Lup’s ever seen? Well.

Nope. Not today. She folds the feeling into a box and _yeets_ that under the bed inside her heart.

Kravitz comes out and stares at the scene of children scattered about the floor giggling, Lucretia laughing and smiling like some kind of nerd, and Lup having a gay panic in a roller rink before promptly turning around and walking back into the office.

Lucretia stops laughing and just smiles. “Lup,” Lucretia looks at her warmly. “I’m happy you came here for your community service. I sincerely hope you keep joining us on the weekends. Will I see you tomorrow, or are you only available on Saturdays?”

Well. The Box of Yeeted Feelings pops right back to the center of her heart. Fuck it, she says to herself. “I’ll be here tomorrow,” Lup grins.

 

The second Lup got out of the Navillera Roller Rink, she yanks her phone out of her purse and texts her beloved brother.

 

 **thing 1 (12:02):** FRAANCISCO IMMM DUMB AND GAY

 **thing 2 (12:03):** wbk but whats up

 **thing 1 (12:03):** pretty gir;l  
her name is luce  
she’s a human and shes tall. shes a nerd and good at skating

 **thing 2 (12:05):** luce? does she go to ipre  
wait shes a nerd of course she does

 **thing 1 (12:06):** but taako…. /we/ go to ipre too

 **thing 2 (12:07):** everything has its exceptions!  
were there any men. not any of the sticky little kids you dealt with but.  
men ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **thing 1 (12:12):** just got on the bus btw  
also there was a guy! our age. objectively hot ig i wasnt paying attention to him bcos. well.  
pretty lady.  
his name was kravitz. you can come w/ me tmrw if you wanna flirt with him

 **thing 2 (12:13):** k get here safe remember to elbow dudes in the dick if they try sumn  
if you think he’s objectively hot than that means he is.

 **thing 1 (12:14):** ill try to get you in w/out paying for the skates  
wear sumn hot so you can woo kravitz if youre really trying to get some  
hes also a nerd. he takes ap music theory. hes also goth but wears sweatpants  
so hes a comfy goth?  
i think that means he’s gay

 **thing 2 (12:15):** oh it definitely does  
i’ll go with you tmrw lulu

 **thing 1 (12:16):** xoxo thanks koko  
see you in like 10 minutes

 

(At the same time, a human smiles so wide her cheeks hurt a little bit. She pulls out her phone and sends a text of her own.

 

 **Madam Director (12:05):** Houston.  
I think we have a problem

 **Sweet (12:08):** Oh

 **Flips (12:08):** No

 **eeyore but with a harp (12:09):** hm  
does it involve ****

 **Flips (12:10):** Do you perhaps mean… love

 **eeyore but with a harp (12:11):** yee

 **Madam Director (12:13):** A very pretty elf is going to be coming to the rink a lot. The community service one.  
Should I…….ask for her number

 **#GetMagnusADog (12:15):** Yes!!!!!!! you should very much get this elfs #  
get lucretia a gf 2kforever

 **Sweet (12:16):** I’m all for creesh getting a gf but you should probably also get her number since you’re basically coworkers now

 **Madam Director (12:18):** Right. Thanks Killian.  
She’s coming back tomorrow so I guess I’ll get it then.

 

Kravitz walks into the room where Lucretia’s texting away. “‘Cretia,” Kravitz smirks a little. “Whaddya think of Lup?”

Lucretia smiles. “I think she’s a great addition to the rink.”)

 

“Details,” Taako demands when Lup enters their dorm. “Every last bit! About him, about her, about the children, about everything!”

“Absolutely,” Lup promises. “But like. A bitch is hungry. Let’s go.”

“Luluuuuuuu,” Taako whines, standing up and following her to the cafeteria. “You’re holding out on me! Tell me all about this objectively hot loser and your new girl!”

Lup grins wickedly. “Not my girl yet,” she corrects. “But soon.”

Taako sighs dramatically. “You promised me you were never going to fall in love with a nerd, and yet here we are.”

Lup waves a hand dismissively at her twin brother. “I _like_ the nerdy type,” she says. She thinks about Lucretia’s smile when she was looking up with her ass on the floor from laughing too hard. “She’s also super cute.”

“Fair enough,” Taako opens the door to the cafeteria. “After you, Guadaalupe.”

“Why thank you, Fraancisco.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> title came from a famous korean poem named "navillera" & plot inspired by gfriend's [navillera]() music video — loosely picture lucretia as eunha (girl w/ bob) and lup as yerin (girl w bangs & red bow clip) lmao
> 
> uh. some notes ig?  
> a) everyone be in high school except 4 davenport & merle whom r faculty  
> b) i hc lup & taako as mexican bcos same hat! lup's full name is guadaalupe and everyone calls her lup. duh. taako's full name is fraancisco, and the nickname that comes w/ that is paco, so. paco -> paako -> taako. its a family nickname that stuck.  
> 2b) i was SO CLOSE to calling lup chaalupa for the joke but i . restrained myself.  
> c) races & magic still exist. yeet. but everyone AGES THE SAME. everyone has a life expectancy of approximately 150-200 years  
> d) thing 1 is lup // thing 2 is taako // madam director is lucretia // sweet is killian // flips is carey // eeyore but with a harp is johann // #getmagnusadog is magnus  
> e) [stan loona babey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=846cjX0ZTrk)


	2. ; you’re something special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucretia does some cool jumps and flirts with an elf. With a mask on, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer - i don't play roller derby, i just Know How To Skate Very Well. this is fantasy roller derby. be kind if the rules displayed in fiction are not 100% accurate.

The shining stars of the _Institute of Planer Research and Exploration Preparatory School_ are the IPRE Prep Starblasters. They’re known for their unwavering team captain, their confidence, their efficiency, and the batshit crazy stuff they do on the course.

The basics are simple: The IPRE Prep Starblasters are the school’s fantasy roller derby team. But per tradition, the players of fantasy roller derby wear masks to hide their identities from the spectators. Decades ago, derby was illegal for its high injury rate, so players would wear masks to keep from being recognized. Now it’s a nationally accepted school sport.

Lucretia _loves_ it.

Next game, the Starblasters are up against the Wonderland Suffragettes, the Legato Trouble Clefs, the Tessaralia Olive Branches, and the Stone Academy Judges. Lucretia’s done some fantasy Googling around. Wonderland is an all girls’ high-elf academy. To Lucretia, that screams _magic._ The Legato Conservatory is majorly an art school, but from what she understands, the roller derby participants are largely _vicious._ The Tessaralia Olive Branches are… well. Not a threat. A switch in coaching had seemingly doomed the team. The Stone Academy Judges are known for playing dirty.

She sends these notes to Killian.

Working at the Navillera Roller Rink has been great for Lucretia. She loves skating, and helping the kids always makes her feel great—but it’s when she’s on the course, going up on ramps, shooting spells out of the glove-wand that derby users get that Lucretia feels the freedom that skates can give.

It’s when she feels free. Like she’s not Lucretia anymore, but instead she’s the fennec fox.

When she’s not just the wallflower.

 

It’s one in the afternoon. Lucretia waves goodbye to Angus. He’s always the last one to go—his parents never pick him up on time. He is ten years old, definitely old enough to walk home alone, but his parents “can’t” allow it. Can’t, or won’t. Lucretia can’t tell.

“Bye, ma’am!” Angus calls out. “See you tomorrow!”

Lucretia hums to herself. Today had been a good day. Lup is certainly interesting. She’s loud and proud about the life she lives, confidence oozes out of her body, and.... Well. She’s very pretty.

But it is one in the afternoon, which means she has places to be in a few hours. She idles around the rink, sweeping the lunch area, organizing the lockers, and manning the front desk for a few hours. Opposed to Lup, Lucretia actually works here. But volunteers for helping the kids was always welcome.

When four rolls around, Lucretia punches out. “Bye, Kravitz!” She calls out, picking up her skates. They’re sleek—white, with aqua blue wheels, and with a silver stripe along the side. They were custom made for her.

When she exits the Navillera Roller Rink, a huge truck stops in front of her. “Get in loser!” Killian grins, honking the horn. “We’re going skating!”

Killian’s driving, Carey’s taking shotgun, and the back three seats are occupied by Sloane, Hurley, and Ren. Lucretia smiles and climbs into the back of the truck. Hurley gingerly slides the window separating Lucretia from the back seats down. “Hi, Creesh!” Sloane waves. “We’re picking up Noelle before hitting the ramps. Cassidy’s gonna be there in fifteen. I think the other girls are already there.”

They wear the masks to practice, too, Lucretia pulls a fennec fox mask out of her bag and adjusts it around her curly hair. She’s careful to make sure the mask hides her hair. There aren’t a lot of black girls with white hair at IPRE Prep, and Lucretia likes the anonymity of fantasy roller derby. Fantasy roller derby isn’t just a sport, it’s a _performance._

It makes thrill flow through Lucretia’s veins. The excitement of the chase, the need for speed, the ecstacy of crossing that finish line first among the pack of other masked girls—it was fucking amazing.

Killian drives to a pub and Noelle blows a kiss to her mom at the door before hopping into the trunk with Lucretia. “Are all the girls gon’ be there?” Noelle asks, pressing her hand to her cheek. “Or at least, will Lydia? I know it was Lydia’s birthday the other day, but she don’ really like me…”

“Lydia doesn’t like a lot of people,” Sloane reminds Noelle gently. “But she likes winning, so she has to deal with it.”

Noelle smiles a little. “I made her lil’ cake is all, but if I give it to her she might not accept it. So maybe if you, Sloane, or Antonia gave it to her…”

Lydia is Keats’s older sister. They come from a long family of rich pure High Elves, and while Lydia is slowly getting better, she still has a ways to go. She didn’t like to associate with the humans very much, but she loved Antonia, and Sloane was alright in her book. She tolerated Hurley, Ren and Carey, inched away from Killian, and well. There wasn’t much she could do there, not when Killian is the captain of the Starblasters and Lucretia is her vice. They keep her on the team because she’s fast and nimble, but her personality leaves a lot to be desired.

“I’ll give it to her,” Sloane says, slipping her raven mask on. Before she does, Hurley presses a chaste kiss on Sloane’s check before sliding her ram mask on her own person. Carey affectionately puts Killian’s lion mask on for her, and Carey slips on her own komodo dragon mask. (“It’s a joke,” Carey insists. “Spectators think I’m just dressing up as a dragonborn to make the identity real hidden. They don’t think dragonborn can be fast, but as someone good at general roguery—”)

Noelle slips on her robin mask, and Ren slides on her penguin mask.

When they do arrive to the skatepark right next to IPRE, Cassidy is talking to Antonia and Lydia; Nadiya, Kardala, and Irene are talking amongst each other; Gandy is furiously typing at her phone as Aubrey laughs at something she probably said herself. Lucretia and Noelle hop out of Killian’s truck before it’s done being parked. Lucretia greets Cassidy amicably. The half-orc grins. “Foxy!” She cries out, giving Lucretia a hardy slap on the back. “Lyds over here got her deer mask modified. Can ya tell?”

Lucretia observes the mask—the antlers were white before, now they’re off purple. They have small crystals hanging off the tips. The nose is black as opposed to pink. “I can,” she smiles at Lydia. “Looks good. Suits you.”

“Thank you,” Lydia says in an Elvish accent. 

They wait for everyone else to get to the center. Sloane gives Lydia the cake Noelle made and Lydia eats it excitedly, thanking Sloane every other word. Noelle glows under each praise Lydia throws Sloane’s way. Lucretia smiles.

Not that anyone can tell under the mask, but oh well.

Julia, in her bear mask, rushes in. “Sorry I’m late, everybody,” she huffs. “Maggie kept me busy.”

Cassidy claps her hands. “Alright, ladies. Our next game is in a week. Who’re we up against?”

“Wonderland Suffragettes,” Lydia calls out. Lydia was a transfer from Wonderland—the decision confused Lucretia a lot. Maybe Lydia was trying to expand her horizons? More likely, she was trying to go to the same school as her twin brother.

“Legato Treble Clefs,” Lucretia murmurs.

“Tesseralia Losers!” Carey inputs. Everyone looks at her. “Sorry, sorry!” Carey laughs a bit sheepishly. “Everyone just calls ‘em that ‘cause of their shit coach. Tesseralia Olive Branches.”

“Stone Academy Judges,” Killian says. Cassidy hums.

“So we got an all-elf school with the Suffragettes. Lotsa magic, then. Treble Clefs are a crafty, nimble bunch. And Tesseralia’s… well. That one ain’t hard. The Judges are a pretty big threat since they’re known for playin’ dirty. What’s your strategy, Cap?”

“We’re known for efficiency,” Killian says. It’s impossible to see her facial inflections with her mask on, but Lucretia can practically hear Killian scrunching her eyebrows together and licking her teeth like she does when she gets focused. “Elves are… generally tall and slim. More aerodynamic? Is that the right word? Their jammers will get around blockers a lot easier. Surrounding awareness will be big in this game. Keep an eye on the Judges and the Suffragettes. Treble Clefs are a typical rowdy bunch and the Los—Olive Branches aren’t big threats so I guess that falls under the other two.”

“Typical jammer-blockers-pivot?” Cassidy taps her pen to the clipboard.

Killian nods. “Yep. Creesh and Lyds will be our jammers; Carey and Sloane will be our pivots, and the rest of us will be blockers.”

Cassidy claps, smile wide. When she claps, tape in neon yellow pop up on the asphalt. “Hit the pipes, ladies. Make sure to keep within the boundaries.”

And they do.

They do what they’re best at: having a good ass time. Practice is three hours, and near the end of it the blockers do some sick maneuvers that involve grabbing the smaller, slenderer jammers and just sort of… throwing them across the track. Lucretia feels adrenaline burst in her stomach when Hurley grabs her arm, does an extremely well-executed spin on her skates as she goes _super fast,_ and flings Lucretia onto a ramp. The wind on her arms feels like freedom.

Lucretia lands on the floor cleanly and she grins with wild abandon. She feels a familiar ache in her ankles for a few seconds after the landing but it fades. Lucretia bends her knees further to pick up more speed and with frightening accuracy, she zooms perfectly between a dumbfounded skateboarder and Cassidy.

“Nice goin’ Foxy!” Cassidy hollars, but Lucretia’s already gone.

Carey, thrown by Killian, catches up eagerly. “That’s so fuckin’ _cool!”_ Carey shouts gleefully, compacting herself into a tight, scaley ball and rolling even faster than Lucretia. She pops back onto her feet a few meters in front of Lucretia, and she can’t see her face but Lucretia knows she’s smiling like a fool.

 

(“Holy shit,” Lup gasps. “Koko, look at the roller derby team!”

Taako leans over to look out the window. Even his eyes widen a bit in shock. They’re moving so fast it’s hard to keep a good look on them. “You can’t even see them,” he says. With a smirk he turns back to Lup. “You wanna join the team, Lulu?”

“I can barely teach children how to balance on a flat surface. The hell makes you think I can do _that—”_ Lup gestures wildly to the sight of number 4 turning into a ball before popping back onto her feet in front of the rest of the speedy skaters. “—Woah,” Lup’s jaw drops. “I gotta get a closer look.”

Taako sighs dramatically. “At least let me go with. We were forcibly signed to join yearbook anyway, might as well get some sick photos.”)

 

Cassidy smiles widely at the team, the tip of her Orc tusks scratching at her lip. “Foxy, Ram,” Cassidy nods at Lucretia and Hurley. “That move y’all made was sick as hell. If you can do that at the game, we’ll sure as hell leave an impression. Cares, make sure you keep practicin’ the landing on your feet thing. Last week—”

Lucretia feels like she’s floating. She’s sweaty and her ankles hurt, but she had a really fun time at practice today. The feeling of the wind against her clothes, like she’s flying; it’s amazing.

She leans against a pole in order to take off her skates when she hears someone come up behind her.

“Yo, Foxy.”

Lucretia turns around and she’s shocked by the sight of Lup.

“Um,” Lucretia says intelligently.

Lup grins a little. “What you guys did today was tight as hell. When the ram chick threw you into the fucking air and you actually _landed_ on the ramp? That was so cool. Is it worth going to actual games if that’s the shit you do for _practice?”_

“The games are better,” Lucretia breathes, smiling under her mask. “The other schools have their own signature maneuvers, but ours are known for being risky. We haven’t lost a single skater yet, though,” she straightens her back proudly. “You should come to the next game.”

“Maybe I will,” Lup hums. Her cocoa brown eyes scan Lucretia for a bit. “Especially if it means I can see you all do that awesome shit again,” she smirks.

Well. Lucretia’s read enough books to know where this could be going. “You don’t just have to come for that…” Lucretia trails off.

“Oh?” Lup’s eyes twinkle, her golden ponytail swishing as she walks a bit closer. The sun setting behind Lup makes it look like she’s glowing.“What else can I come for, Foxy?”

Emboldened by the mask on her face, Lucretia takes a step closer to Lup. There’s only a few inches separating them now, but nowhere near to be considered super _close._ Lup’s a few inches taller than Lucretia anyway. “You can come just to look at me?” Lucretia offers. “I’ll even give you my letterman jacket during the game. It doesn’t have my last name, obviously, but it does have a fox on it.”

Lup does something Lucretia’s never seen her do. Even when she does clownery in chemistry. Lup _blushes._ “Oh,” she says, a bit softer. She regains her vigor quickly though. “Shouldn’t you take me on a date before you’re offering to give me your jacket?”

Her mouth moves before she can think. “That can be arranged.” Lucretia says smoothly.

“...Holy shit,” Lup whispers under her breath before realizing she said it out loud. The tips of her ears go pink and Lucretia feels satisfied.

“The game’s next Saturday. Three to four thirty. Free entry if you have ASB…” Lucretia trails off before spotting Taako idling with his camera. “Or if you’re with yearbook.”

Lup smiles. “I’ll be there,” she promises.

“I hope so,” Lucretia hums before slipping off the second skate and walking back to Killian’s truck.

Killian’s laughing at Lucretia behind a hand. _“Lucy,”_ Killian says. “Were you flirting with _Lup?”_

“...Maybe,” Lucretia answers honestly. She takes the mask off and feels heat fill her cheeks. “She’s pretty and I think she... uh, was. You know. Interested.”

“In you or in derby?”

“Both?” Lucretia shrugs. “I may have implied I wanted to take her out on a date.”

Carey chooses that moment to barrel in. “Wait!” She cries as she slams the door to the truck. “Lucretia, did you find the guts to ask a girl to go somewhere with you?”

“Technically, yes,” Lucretia recedes back a little. This is why she’s only bold with the mask. _Lucretia_ doing anything bold is weird, out of character, a situation that gets blown of out proportion. But the Bulwark Fox, number 7? She’s brave. She’s fast. She has no fear. She bubbles her allies and speeds past her rivals. She helps win the jam.

 

There’s a knock on Lucretia’s dorm room. She frowns; it’s ten at night. Who could have business at this hour?

She opens the door and blinks.

“Hey,” Magnus waves a bit awkwardly. “I know it’s past curfew but I couldn’t sleep and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep unless I get some kind of answer,” he scratches his head. Lucretia purses her lips. Carey’s her roommate and she’s sleeping over with Killian tonight.

“Come in,” Lucretia says. She drags him in quickly. No one can see this otherwise they’ll get the wrong idea. And the wrong idea is _gross_ no matter what— A: Magnus is basically Lucretia’s _brother_ and B: Lucretia doesn’t… _do…_ men.

Magnus sits down on Carey’s bed and sighs, staring at a picture of Carey and Killian that Carey had taped to the wall. “Luce,” Magnus fidgits a little. “Do you, uh, know what Julia is doing lately?”

“Um,” Lucretia squints. “Can you be more specific?”

It all comes out. “It’s just that, today we were playing Fantasy Overwatch together and she told me she was available all afternoon and that’s hard for us since she works at Hammer and Tongs most days after school so she always does homework on the weekends. I was really excited but then she said she forgot she had to do something today and didn’t tell me what it was. I don’t mean to be the boyfriend that doesn’t trust his girlfriend because I really love Julia and I—fuck, I can see myself marrying her. Is that weird?” Magnus turns to Lucretia with wide eyes.

Lucretia’s never pictured Magnus getting married, but when he says it out loud Lucretia feels something inside feel fluffy. She focuses on the image and yeah—she can see Julia next to him. She sends him a reassuring smile.

“But yeah, anyway, she just never has time for me and I just want to spend time with her but I _can’t_ and she won’t tell me what she’s doing on Saturdays,” he looks back down. Magnus doesn’t look angry or anything, he just looks _sad._

Lucretia knows what Julia does on Saturdays. That’s because they do the same thing together on Saturdays. “You could talk to her,” Lucretia puts her hands on Magnus’s. “I know the both of you have History together on Monday. I can also tell you, as the TA for that class, that nothing important happens on Monday. Ditch and talk to her about what’s going in.”

Magnus looks back up. “You think she’ll tell me?”

“...Yeah, I think she will.”

Her brother from another mother smiles widely again and Lucretia relaxes. Magnus should never look sad or upset. His default face is a smile and it has to stay that way forever. He hugs her and leaves after telling her goodnight.

After Lucretia shuts the door, she texts Julia.

 

 **Madam Director (10:42):** I thought you were going to tell Magnus you were on the derby team  
Why haven’t you?

 **tongs (10:45):** oh  
idk ive just been… scared? scared’s not the right word. anxious? idk how he’ll react

 **Madam Director (10:46):** I see. He came to me a few minutes ago. He’s worried about what you’re not telling him

 **tongs (10:48):** oh shit. he knows smth is up?

 **Madam Director (10:50):** Indeed he does.  
And it’s making him sad because he’s doubting you and he hates that he’s doing that.  
You guys should skip history together and talk it out.  
You know Magnus would be like, “I have an awesome girlfriend that shoots people across an obstacle course.”

 **tongs (10:54):** pfft  
okay, yeah, you’re right. he just texted me asking if i wanted to skip w him so.  
i’ll do that  
thanks creesh

 **Madam Director (10:55):** No problem.  
Get some sleep

 **tongs (11:01):** oh fuck its 11  
I HAVE WORK TOMORROW IM GONNA DIE

 **Madam Director (11:03):** Goodnight Julia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i added ladies from other taz arcs so i could get 15 team members.
> 
> each lady with her respective mask since not all of them got mentioned—  
> killian - lion // lucretia - fox // carey - komodo dragon // noelle - robin // lydia - deer // antonia - firefly // sloane - raven // hurley - ram // julia - bear // ren - penguin // aubrey - rabbit // nadiya - dolphin // kardala - eel // irene - chinchilla // gandy - tardigrade
> 
> in case u dont understand roller derby the whole point of it is to pass as many skaters as u can. rounds are called "jams" and last ~2 minutes. each jam has 5 participants from a team each. jammers are the players trying to pass the other players. blockers are trying to stop other teams' jammers from passing. pivots are versatile and work either position but start off the beginning of a jam as a blocker. each jam has one jammer, three blockers, and a pivot from each respective team. roller derby teams have ~15 ppl each
> 
> there's a blocker/pivot starting line and a jammer starting line is 20 feet behind that — once the referee blows the whistle everyone goes. the blockers have to maintain a "pack" and the jammers have to get enough speed to pass as many people in the pack as they can in two minutes. blockers stop other teams' jammers from passing the pack while making sure their jammer can keep going. if the jammer gets injured/isnt in a great position to score, they can "pass the star" to the pivot thus making the pivot the jammer. 
> 
> now thats real roller derby. what these girls play is Fantasy Roller Derby, aka roller derby and battlewagon racing combined. so: magic's allowed and some general. more hands on stuff thats not allowed in real roller derby.
> 
> thanks for reading this far. i tried to paraphrase the rules a bit so i hope its easy to understand. once they play an actual round of derby ill put the rules in that chapter too. 
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed~


End file.
